


Just a Little More Time

by Master_Magician



Category: Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-19
Updated: 2020-05-19
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:14:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24265708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Master_Magician/pseuds/Master_Magician
Summary: It hurt, it was an actual physical ache that they had to part ways now. Aerith would have given almost anything to prolong this just a little longer. But she'd taken them on the slow path, made them stop for numerous unnecessary breaks, and done anything in her power to buy more time.
Relationships: Aerith Gainsborough/Cloud Strife
Comments: 8
Kudos: 66
Collections: Umbrella & Nailbat | Recs





	Just a Little More Time

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry my dear readers, no Clerifa this time. This one is focusing on the Clerith, instead. I suppose if you want to think about it that way, you could imagine this was before Aerith met Tifa so this could be pre-Clerifa if you wish to imagine it that way.
> 
> Might also help to remember that Clerifa is actually four relationships in one, if you think about it, and each needs their time in the spotlight. I feel like I might have been focusing a little too hard on the whole trio at once. Tifa/Aerith got their turn in 'Absence' and Tifa/Cloud had a little bit with "Not My Fault" (probably need to do something else that is actually romance for them two), so now Cloud/Aerith get their turn here.
> 
> I think this might have been done already by someone else on here, but I wanted to try it myself.
> 
> Enjoy.

"So…"

Aerith couldn't have held in her laughter even if she tried. They'd only known each other less than a day or so and here they were, so in sync as to start sentences together. The thought made actually made her heart flutter, ever so slightly.

"Go ahead." Aerith stepped aside so Cloud could reach the hidden passage. Her legs almost refused to move, but she made them. This had to be done.

"You gonna be okay getting home?" Cloud took a couple steps forward but stopped and turned to face Aerith. It was just like him, the way back right in front of his eyes and he was more concerned about her.

There were those butterflies in Aerith's stomach again.

"And if I said I wasn't?" Aerith knew what Cloud was going to say, she'd gotten to know him well enough to predict him. Even so, she wanted to hear him say it.

"I'll go with you." Cloud didn't even bother waiting for confirmation. The man was already walking back the way they came, all thoughts of sector 7 and returning to his own home and, maybe, friends, gone. She hadn't said a word and he was already assigning himself her escort.

Just when Aerith didn't think she could grow fonder of Cloud Strife, he had to go and be a gentleman like that. Then again, Aerith hadn't expected any less of him.

"Thought you needed to get back?" Aerith giggled at Cloud's expression. He was only now realizing himself he'd forgotten all about sector 7. "Don't worry. I have a backup route for emergencies. And it's safer, too."

Had this been anyone else, they might have been a bit upset or annoyed that Aerith had deliberately led them on the longer and more dangerous route, but Cloud was certainly not anyone else. One look on his face was enough to tell Aerith he didn't mind her taking the long way. Not just that, Aerith had, correctly it seemed, guessed that he was happy to take the longer way.

It hurt, it was an actual physical ache that they had to part ways now. Aerith would have given almost anything to prolong this just a little longer. But she'd taken them on the slow path, made them stop for numerous unnecessary breaks, and done anything in her power to buy more time.

Time was running out, and Aerith knew she couldn't do anything about it.

At least she could take another couple more moments before they had to go to get one last good look at Cloud's oh so alluring eyes.

Aerith knew he was used to people starring and gawking. The mako rimmed eyes of SOLDIERS did somewhat stand out, but Aerith didn't see them like how some people did.

To many, the mako eyes of a SOLDIER was unnatural, wrong. A sign that their bearer had made the trade of 'a normal life for power' as her mother had said.

To Aerith, they were beautiful, gorgeous, she might even say. A sign that their bearer had made the trade of their own body and health to become something potentially greater.

Whereas many saw greed and a lust for power, Aerith saw courage and sacrifice.

Especially Cloud's right now, the way his eyes seemed to sparkle in whatever light found them had Aerith absolutely enraptured in their beauty. It had been hard enough not to constantly look into those captivating orbs since the moment he fell into the church. Luckily, Cloud wasn't too keen on eye contact, and she was able to keep herself distracted so as to not stare too much.

Unfortunately, right now there were no distractions left. Just Cloud and Aerith herself in an old and empty playground, alone, but together. With their parting coming so soon, Aerith had better no chance left.

If only Cloud wasn't so committed to playing the tough guy SOLDIER, maybe he would have allowed her to spend hours just looking at his eyes, savoring each and every speck of cerulean and mako.

A bit more likely Cloud would be calling her a creeper, though.

Once again, Cloud reminded her so much of Zack. Same uniform, same sword, same piercing mako rimmed eyes, but that was where the similarities ended. Whereas Zack had been cheerful, carefree, upfront and energetic, Cloud was stoic, guarded, and quiet. The two men couldn't be more different.

The man hid it well, but deep-down Cloud had a heart every bit as big as Zack's. He tried so hard to hide behind a veil of stoicism, to show he was nothing but an icy cold professional. But Aerith had seen beneath the charade, seen beneath the walls he threw up to keep people away and out.

Walls that Aerith decided she had every intention of smashing down brick by brick. She'd already made tremendous headway in the first few layers. Dozens more may await her, but they would fall like all the ones before.

"Guess this is it, then. Ready?" Aerith tried to make herself get out of the way, but she somehow knew she was not going to be able to do it until Cloud decided it was time to do so.

"No." Cloud said simply, looking everywhere but at Aerith herself.

"Aww, you big sofite." Aerith beamed. "Gonna miss me?"

'I'll miss you, so very much,' Aerith wanted to say, but couldn't. 'Don't leave yet.'

"I guess this is… oof." Cloud held his ground when Aerith's arms were swinging around his neck in a gentle but firm embrace, her fingers lacing together over the bare skin on the back of his nape, the flesh beneath her fingertips oddly warm.

"Not yet." Aerith said, tightening her hold a little. "Just… one more minute."

"Uh…" Cloud paused. "O… okay."

Honestly, Aerith had expected Cloud to shy away from her, maybe even gently shove her off. Whatever he would do, the SOLDIER would be careful not to hurt her. Yet, Cloud did no such thing, but neither did he really return the hug. Instead, he lightly patted her elbows. Almost as if he was afraid of actually returning the hug.

"You know…" Aerith found her face growing warmer by the second. What was wrong with her? She'd been teasing and flirting with Cloud since the moment they met, why was she suddenly getting self-conscious, now? "I'm not the kinda girl to kiss on a first date."

"Yeah?" Cloud didn't even try to hide his confusion, not sure where this was coming from. "What's that got to do with anything?"

"But if you think about it… this is technically date number two." Aerith wasn't sure where she was going, either. Some of… no, most, of her words were just simply spilling out of their own accord. She'd long since lost control of her mouth. Those mako eyes were doing something to her self-control! "So that means…"

Aerith hadn't meant to do it, she was just messing with Cloud, again. She wanted to see more of that adorable blush of his and flustered Cloud did it three times harder. But when she moved to plant a kiss on his cheek, her body decided it had other targets in mind.

Before she could even realize she was doing it, Aerith had touched her lips right to Cloud's.

A couple times Aerith had absentmindedly imagined what kissing Cloud would be like. Would he be so skilled as to take her breath away? Would fireworks go off behind her eyelids? Would she swoon on the spot and maybe even pop her leg up like in those romantic stories she sometimes, secretly, read?

Turned out, it wasn't anything of the sort.

Cloud, caught utterly flat-footed, stood ramrod straight while they kissed. It was obvious he had little experience kissing a girl, if any. His lips were more chapped, rougher, than Aerith thought, the contrast with her own softer ones a strange, but not entirely bad, sensation.

It wasn't romantic, not in the slightest, a boy and girl having their first kiss together in some dingy playground, but it was still… nice.

Cloud remained still for far too long, so long that Aerith began to worry she'd made a horrible mistake and acted without thinking, something she was often guilty of. Maybe if she pulled away fast enough, and came up with some lame excuse she currently had no hope of concocting, she could at least attempt to salvage some of her dignity.

Just as Aerith was about to pull away, and throw out a couple of said excuses that were still not properly thought out, she felt Cloud's hands moving.

The rough texture of the SOLDIER's gloves started on her hips. Aerith could feel his touch, experimental and unsure, but not unwilling.

The two parted for air, each sucking in deep lungfuls of life-giving oxygen. Their respective chests pressed together and rising and falling with each intake of breath. From this close, not even their respective clothing could stifle the impossibly rapid thumping Aerith felt coming from his chest. A pounding she knew her own heart was matching beat for beat.

Neither moved, Aerith's emerald orbs locked onto Cloud's mako rimmed ones.

Aerith wanted to say something, anything, but no words would come. Even if they did, this was surely a moment, the kind she read about in those stories. A single word might break whatever spell they'd somehow cast over each other.

'It's okay'. Aerith spoke more with her eyes and body language than her mouth. 'You can touch me.'

Cloud's questing hands, far too slowly for Aerith's liking, began to move, but too slowly, too nervously, for Aerith's liking. Gently taking hold of those gloved hands, Aerith guided them over her hips and to her back to properly encircle her waist. Even through her dress and his gloves, those fingertips left a trail of warmth that Aerith could feel in her skin as the hands pressed into her lower back. The only thing separating their skin from direct contact was her dress and his gloves.

Aerith released her hold on Cloud's neck, but refused to actually let go, her arms instead moving to fully wrap around him.

Now that they'd both recovered enough breath, Aerith moved in for another kiss. She moved far slower this time. She didn't want to make Cloud feel like she was forcing him into something. She wanted to give him plenty of time and space to pull away, to stop her if he wanted to.

Dear god, she hoped he didn't.

Not only did Cloud not pull away, it was the man himself who closed the last remaining couple inches between them, and just like that, their lips were reunited once more.

Cloud was an awful kisser, Aerith would admit only within the safety of her mind, but it was the truth. Too much force, his teeth accidentally tapping against hers, their noses touching. He kissed her, sure, but his body still held too much tension. He really didn't have any experience to know better.

It brought of sense of greedy excitement to the young woman. What if this was Cloud's first kiss? Now it was hers and hers alone. So what if he hadn't kissed any other girls before? That just meant fewer women for Aerith to be jealous of.

There would be many more kisses in the future if Aerith had a say in the matter, but Cloud was in need of teaching. A role Aerith would be delighted to take up.

Briefly, Aerith considered adding a little tongue, but decided to hold off on going that far. She didn't want to scare the man, and there would surely be plenty of time to work their way up to that.

Once again, the need to breathe became a necessity and the duo were forced to part once more. It was almost enough to make Aerith whine in annoyance, almost.

"T… that was… umm…" Cloud struggled to form proper words. Aerith found it to be a cute look on him.

He truly was clueless!

"Shh…" Aerith shushed Cloud with another kiss on the lips, this time it really was just a quick peck, but her explanation was clear as crystal.

After kissing someone, words are not that important.

Cloud nodded his understanding but Aerith just giggled and shifted her arms around him chest and pulled him flush against her. To her joy, Cloud retuned the embrace just as tightly.

"Tell me something…" Aerith's lips raised in a teasing grin. "That wasn't your first kiss, was it?"

"No." Cloud said far too quickly to be telling the truth.

She was right!

"You have to be the worst liar I have ever met." Aerith hummed, leaning into Cloud's neck to hide her smile. "It's okay. I like it."

"I'm telling the truth." Sure Cloud, and Aerith totally did not notice that tiny hitch in his breath, either, no sir.

"Thought you didn't like lying?" Aerith teased, grinning like a loon.

Cloud said nothing more, choosing instead to just glare at Aerith. A glare that the woman matched with her best pout and puppy eyes. Poor SOLDIER didn't stand a chance.

"You're evil." Cloud buried his nose in Aerith's hair in a rather pathetic attempt to hide from the brutally cute look Aerith was giving him. "And cruel."

"Aww…" Aerith giggled. "Such compliments!"

As much as Aerith would have liked Cloud to stay longer, she knew he had business back in sector 7 he really did need to take care of. Heel dragging could only take them so far.

"I know you gotta go, but you'll come back, right?" Aerith questioned, now fully serious. She'd detained him far too long already. "When you get a chance. Yeah?"

"Actually, I just have to pick up the pay from my last job and let everyone know I'm not dead but after that… I don't have any other jobs lined up." Cloud explained. His face was still flushed from their last several rounds of lip locking, but his skin was going even brighter now.

"So that means…" Aerith felt her heart soaring. She hadn't dared to hope.

"I won't be gone too long." Cloud confirmed. "Maybe a day."

"Yay!" Aerith, in her enthusiasm, almost tackled Cloud clear off his feet when she threw her arms around him again. Had Cloud not been a SOLDIER, she would have taken them both to the ground instantly. He'd managed to catch her with one arm, and steady them both against the nearby piece of equipment at the last second.

"Easy there." Cloud chastised the woman, but his voice lacked any form of bite. Not only that, but Aerith could have sworn she saw the faintest trace of a smile. "You'll take us both out."

Aerith had to force herself to take a few steps back. Her body was no longer trustworthy. Any second now it might latch onto Cloud and refuse to let him go. Then he'd be stuck dragging her all the way with him to sector 7. While not a bad idea in theory, Aerith really didn't like the idea of explaining to her mother why she was coming home the next day.

Speaking of Elmyra, Aerith still had to have a chat with her adoptive mother about men and her love life. A talk that was going to be fun in the worst ways imaginable.

"So…" Cloud cleared his throat, dropping to one knee to enter the passage she'd shown him. "See you soon."

"See you soon." Aerith repeated, willing her arms not to reach out to him. Ugh, how much clingier could she be?

Just as Cloud started to descend into the passage, the enormous gate nearby popped open.

**Author's Note:**

> Probably going to do some other two-person ship works like this one in the near future, in addition to my Clerifa stuff. I have many more planned, even a couple non-ship works. And yes, that absolutely includes our favorite Avalanche trio.
> 
> Let me know what you all think! All your reviews and comments are what makes this work possible.


End file.
